Chapter 21 Chapter 21: Insult is a motivation

Motto: Insults are the measure of competence. Never allow your personal biases to get in the way of your success. You believe in yourself and are in harmony with yourself, you are your most faithful companion. (It is the task of men of thought, as well as men of action to know to put aside pride and prejudice.) February 27, 1901 Dear John: Your mother and I were pleasantly surprised by how you negotiated with Mr. Morgan. We didn't expect you to have the courage to stand up to the domineering Wall Street's largest money bag: moreover, you responded calmly, with decent words, well-bred, and thoroughly Control your opponent.Thank God that we have a wonderful child like you.

I think you are right in the letter you have told me that Mr. Morgan treated you with rudeness and with the intention of insulting you.In fact, you want to take revenge on me and let you suffer humiliation on my behalf. You know, Morgan proposed to ally with me this time because he was worried that I would pose a threat to him.I believe he is reluctant to cooperate with me, because he knows that he and I are two carriages running on two roads, and we don't like each other.I was disgusted at the sight of his arrogant, arrogant and unreasonable appearance.I think he must have made him uncomfortable when he saw me.

But Morgan is a prodigy in the business world. He knows that I don't take Wall Street seriously, and I'm not afraid of his threats to me. Therefore, if he wants to realize his ambition-to rule the U.S. steel industry, he must cooperate with me, otherwise, wait for me. His will be a life-and-death competition. People who are good at thinking and good at acting know that they must get rid of arrogance and prejudice, and they all know that they can never let their personal prejudices hinder their success. Mr. Morgan is such a person.So, even though Mr. Morgan didn't want to have anything to do with me, he asked me if I could meet with him in the office of the president of Standard Oil.

Whoever can hold out until the last minute in a negotiation gets something, so I told Morgan, "I'm retired, and I'd love to have you at my house if you want." The words were obviously condescending.But he never dreamed that when he asked a specific question I would say, "I'm sorry Mr. Morgan, I'm retired and I thought my son John would be happy to talk to you about that deal." Only a fool wouldn't see that I was blatantly disparaging Morgan, but he refrained and told me he wanted you to stop by his Wall Street office and talk.I agreed. Revenge on others is an attack on yourself.Mr. Morgan doesn't seem to understand this truth, and in the end, in order to relieve his anger, he let you control it instead.But in any case, I appreciate Mr. Morgan's keeping his eyes on the goal to be achieved, despite his bitterness at my blatant insult to him.

My son, we grew up in a society that seeks dignity, and I know what it means to be insulted to a person who loves dignity.But in many cases, no matter who you are, even the President of the United States of America is powerless to stop insults from others. So, what should we do?Are you fighting back in rage and defending your dignity?Or should we treat each other with tolerance and generosity?Or respond in other ways? You may remember that I have always treasured a group photo of my middle school classmates.There was no me there, only a child from a wealthy family.Decades have passed, and I still cherish it, and even more so, the scene of taking that photo.

It was one afternoon, the weather was fine, the teacher told us that a photographer came to take pictures of the students in class.I have taken pictures, but very few. For a child from a poor family, taking pictures is a luxury.As soon as the photographer appeared, I imagined the scene of being captured by the camera, smiling more, being more natural, handsome, and even started to imagine going home and telling my mother like reporting good news: "Mom, I took a picture! Yes Great shot by the photographer!" I watched the photographer bent over the scene with excited eyes, hoping he would pull me into the camera sooner.But I was disappointed.The photographer seemed to be an aesthete. He straightened up, pointed at me, and said to my teacher, "You can get that student out of his seat. He is so poorly dressed." I am a weakling. I have no power to fight against the students who have to obey the teacher's orders. I can only stand up silently and create beautiful scenery for those well-dressed rich children.

At that moment I felt my face heat up.But I didn't get angry, I didn't feel sorry for myself, and I didn't complain why my parents didn't let me dress decently. In fact, they did everything they could for me to get a good education.Looking at the shooting scene mobilized by that photographer, I clenched my fists in my heart and solemnly swear to myself: One day, you will become the richest person in the world!Let a photographer take pictures of you is nothing!It is your pride to have the most famous painter in the world give you a portrait! My son, what I vowed then has become a reality!In my eyes, the meaning of the word insult has changed. It is no longer a sharp knife that strips my dignity, but a powerful driving force, like overwhelming mountains and seas, urging me to forge ahead and pursue all good things.It doesn't seem too much to say that the photographer inspired a poor kid to become the richest man in the world.

Everyone enjoys applause and applause, which is either affirming our achievements, or affirming our character, integrity and morality; there are also times when we are attacked and insulted, except for malice, I think the reason why we will We are insulted because of our lack of ability. This ability may be related to being a person or doing things. In short, it does not constitute respect from others.So, I want to say that humiliation is not a bad thing. If you are a person who knows how to reflect calmly, you may think that insult is a yardstick for measuring ability, which is what I did.

I know that any slight insult can hurt dignity.However, dignity is not a gift from God, nor is it given by others, it is created by yourself.Dignity is a spiritual product enjoyed by yourself. Everyone's dignity belongs to him. If you think you have dignity, you have dignity.Therefore, if someone hurts your feelings, your dignity, you should not be moved.If you don't stick to your dignity, no one can hurt you. My son, your relationship with yourself is the beginning of all relationships, and when you believe in yourself and are in harmony with yourself, you are your most faithful companion.And only in this way, you can be flattered or humiliated.

love your father